Monday, February 16, 2009

I finally decided that I just can't do that 25 Things thing, despite actually sitting down and writing out half of what I would say. Ultimately, it's too gratuitous for me and I'm too far behind the bandwagon in any case, at this point.

However, speaking of coming late to the party, I would like to take a moment to join Luke and Carolyn of Cookography in thinking about a few of my culinary resolutions for 2009. These are mine.

In 2009, I would like to:

1. Write more thoughtful posts, so that the blog becomes a real narrative with interesting essays, instead of just an update.2. Improve my camera skills, and take more artistic and informative pictures.3. Can, freeze, and put up far more food.4. Use all my CSA produce, and stop throwing away so much lettuce and so many peppers.5. Do mini cookbook tours, showcasing and exploring food from a single writer/chef.6. Without any intention of being rigid, lighten up on meat and fats a little. I'd like to work on remembering that simple things are as fun to make and eat as elaborate braises, in fact, when it comes to eating, I often prefer them. I'm not going light, but maybe going simple.7. Successfully revive my fig tree, Miss Figgy, and get her to give me a few figs.8. Plant a container garden on the roof.9. Grow herbs indoors without killing them.10. Explore the world of wedding cakes--I've been commissioned to make not one but two this summer.11. Be less territorial about the kitchen, and invite Matt to join me there more often, and to have more say in what we eat.12. In the spirit of 11, make breakfast and lunch for Matt and not just me, so that he also can save money and eat better.13. Make yogurt.14. Create a recipe archive for the site.15. Create some recipes of my own.16. Stop buying quite so many cookbooks.17. Have picnics.18. Start planning for the seasonal summer shack Matt and I have been dreaming about starting.19. Related to 18, initiate a special project for summer 2009. More on this later, but think recurring underground supper party on the roof, with ice cream.

4 comments:

I too am thinking about lightening up on the meat, although this is something I have been moving toward for a while. When we have a fully veggie dinner in our house it is usually referred to as "vegetarian dinner" and I would love to have "meat dinner" or "fish dinner" or "roasted chicken dinner" be the exception rather than the rule. Last night I made vegetarian bounty to feed me at work this week, as I have spent all my money: curried carrot and acorn squash with almonds, lentils with dill, roasted broccoli with red pepper flakes, and brown rice. Yum. Also, this is just Stacey posting, I have adjusted my identity for another purpose to include Avi.

On Serious Eats there is a newish column called 'Meat Lite' that I like to read, which kind of steers away from the 'hunk of flesh' plan for dinner into things that are lightly flavored by meat, like a white bean soup with ham hocks, or a meat sauce for pasta, etc...This is all very well, but I realize that I used to not consider meat at all, not notice if it was or was not there, and have it be, like you say, the exception rather than the rule. Living with vegetarians who disliked having it around, and also wouldn't eat it with me, just naturally created that atmosphere. Now it's time to relearn. It's the seventies all over again. Sometimes I feel like I'm going over and retracing all my parents' footsteps.